I was proud to lay a wreath to honour fallen

DR Richard House (Letters, November 19) accused me of attending an illegal event by laying a wreath on Remembrance Sunday.

He could not be more wrong. There was no ‘event’: no service, prayers, bugler, hymn or any organisation at all by the RBL.

But he is quite right that, masked and socially distant from a few others, I laid a wreath on behalf of all who live here at 11am, as did MPS all over the country; and the Prince of Wales and Prime Minister (among others) at the Cenotaph.

Dr House wrongly compares this with the organised and promoted Freedom Rally (i.e. anti all protective measures against the pandemic) in Stroud, that was expecting to be addressed by the former Labour Party leader’s brother, Piers Corbyn.

Readers should not be entirely surprised. Dr House is a self-confessed supporter of Jeremy Corbyn. Mr Corbyn is a well-known antimonarchist who does not believe in armed forces, and wanted to dismantle our intelligence services. These views were comprehensively rejected by voters across the land in the last election.

He is entitled to have such views precisely because we are a democracy. But in our city, I will continue to honour and respect those who gave their lives for our country by laying a wreath on behalf of all my constituents every year at 11am on Remembrance Sunday – yes, ‘come what may’.

Those who have a problem with this are welcome to join Dr House and his friends at whatever (legal) event they organise, preferably in Stroud.